Well, I've never been to a NCC function. Buy generally speaking when I have people over, I let my smoke be the prize. If I am going to a friends spot I usually pre smoke and then heat up once I get there. If I were at a separate location like a park or something, I guess it could go either way. Hope this helps, although I don't know if its the right answer.

Thank you for your reply. The info you passed on is sure helpful. I just ordered a Masterbuilt 40 inch

propane smoker for myself on Mother's Day.

A club I belong to has numerous gatherings in the Spring,Summer and Fall and I thought it would be fun to bring my smoker along for some good smoked grub.The park where the club meets is a real nice place to have gatherings. Thank you again for the reply.

I've only been on this site for a little over a year, but I've never seen any announcements of Nor Cal gatherings. It doesn't seem like there have been any recently. This and the lack of responses to your original question makes me think that the group isn't very active as a group. If someone believes differently, I'd love to be corrected.